How Much Money to Retire?

Retirement Advice for a happy and secure retirement

How much money to retire happy and secure?   We're living longer and longer, and your money has to go further.  The answer is - it depends on your goals for retirement and your preferred lifestyle.

Read the contrasting attitudes of Richard and Joe and you will see that when it comes to retirement financial planning - one size does not fit all. It is essential to incorporate your personal goals and lifestyle choices into your planning. 

Retirement Financial Planning

Retirement financial planning involves consideration of Pension, Saving for retirement, and Investing for retirement and Budgeting. 

In my Retirement Coaching practice, one of the first areas I explore with a client are their Retirement Goals.

What you would like your retirement to look like - money, work, health, housing, and lifestyle? What would it feel like to have the peace of mind of financial security in retirement? 

Retirement Planning Guide

Ask yourself the following questions regarding your personal and financial objectives:

• How much money do I have for retirement - Pension, Savings, Personal Assets and Investments? 

• Is Equity Release (Converting some of the value of your home into cash, without having to make repayments during your lifetime) an option? 

• How much money will I need to pay bills in retirement? - see commitments below. 

• Do I want to travel? 

• Where do I plan to live? (Read Best places to retire) 

• Will I have my mortgage paid off? 

• What are my goals for other loans, credit card, and bank overdraft? 

• What debts can I pay off before retiring? 

• How much should I budget for medical expenses and/or insurance? 

• Are my tax affairs up to date? 

• Have I prepared a Budget of Income and Expenditure? 

• How will my post retirement budget differ from my pre-retirement income/expenditure? 

• Have I involved my spouse/partner in this review? 

• Do I plan to financially assist my adult children?

Commitments and preferences

• Household Insurance 

• Rent/Mortgage 

• Fuel/oil/gas/electricity 

• Telephone 

• T.V. licenses/fees 

• Car Insurance/Tax/Repair 

• Travel costs 

• Medical insurance 

• Life Assurance 

• Holidays 

• School fees/expenses 

• Covenants 

• House maintenance 

• Local authority charges 

• Club fees-gym, golf, Rotary, etc 

• Entertainment – films, concerts, music, books 

• Eating out 

• Housekeeping expenses - food and groceries 

• Clothes 

• Pets-food and care 

• Church and charitable donations 

• Dependent relatives 

• Other expenses

Your expenditure should be analyzed into regular/occasional, essential/discretionary, and frequency-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual. 

Financial security in retirement requires retirement financial planning, commitment and money! In saving for retirement, set aside a reasonable amount of your disposable income as early as possible. 

How much money to Retire

Most Importantly:

• Start now

• Set goals, short-term, medium-term, long-term

• Make a realistic Budget and stick to it 

The total of your expenditure should be less than your income if you are to avoid the Micawber Principle "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”

The currency has changed from "pounds, shillings and pence" since Dickens created that character - but the principle is timeless! 

How to Calculate how much money to retire

A retirement income calculator will indicate how much you need to be saving to enjoy a happy and secure retirement. 

Click here to access a Retirement Income Calculator.